Apparatus for use in assembling and applying book covers



July 5, 1960 N. BARRETT ETAL 2,943,336

APPARATUS FOR USE IN ASSEMBLING AND APPLYING BOOK COVERS Filed June 15, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1..

I 2 9 INVENTORS NE I LON BARRETT CHESTER A.GRANT BY 2 3 1 ATTORNEY 5 July 5, 1960 N. BARRETT ETVAL APPARATUS FOR USE IN ASSEMBLING AND APPLYING BOOK COVERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 15, 1959 FIG. 5.

v INVENTORS NE ILON BARRETT CHESTER A. GRANT ATTORNEYS United States Pat n P APPARATUS FOR USE IN ASSEMBLING AND APPLYING BOOK COVERS Neilon Barrett, Kingston, and Chester A. Grant, Syracuse, N.Y., assignors to Gaylord Bros, Inc, Syracuse, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed June 15, 1959, Ser. No. 820,523

7 Claims. (Cl. 111) The present invention relates to apparatus for use in assembling book covers and for applying such covers to books. More particularly, it involves what may be generally termed a book cover assembly guide and clamp board which serves to simplify and expedite the initial assembly of an outer protective cover with a conventional paper jacket commonly known as a dust jacket, and thereafter, the application of the cover assembly to the book.

In recent years, it has become more or less standard practice for book publishers to provide a temporary paper cover for each book, said temporary covers serving to protect the permanent book bindings against accumulations of dust while the books are on display or in storage, as well as against scratches, finger prints and other disfigurements during handling both before and after sales of the books. These temporary covers or jackets are frequently highly decorative and are designed to attract attention and thus help promote the sale or loan of the books.

In order to give a more permanent character to such jackets, auxiliary protective covers have come into extensive use, said auxiliary covers usually being composed of a relatively thin transparent plastic sheet material, and usually having a paper reinforcing liner. These auxiliary covers may be applied to books which are not provided with dust jackets, or in lieu of the dust jackets originally furnished with the books, if the user prefers to discard the dust jackets, but more often, the auxiliary covers are used in conjunction with such dust jackets by inserting the jacket between the outer transparent plastic cover member and the inner paper liner of the auxiliary protective cover. This presents an assembly problem which sometimes is a serious deterrent to the use of the more.

of neatness and uniformity of assembly and application, particularly where many books are to be covered, as in.

libraries and bookstores.

Moreover, with the recent advent of protective covers of a substantially universal type which permit use of the same cover size for books of various sizes falling within a limited size range, instead of requiring a different cover size for each and every book size, the protective covers, as supplied by the manufacturer, must be folded along at least one edge to correspond to the size of the particular book for which it is to be used, before applying the cover to the book. Normally this folding operation would entail considerable extra time, as well as special care and skill, if performed .by mere guess or approximation, without the aid of an appropriate guide or other equipment, and the result would be very unsatisfactory from the standpoint of efiiciency, uniformity and neatness of appearance.

Accordingly, it is the primary object of this invention A nating at its opposite ends somewhat short of and spaced l 2,943,336 Patented July 5, 1960 ing and expediting the assembly of book covers and jackets of the type aforementioned, and for applying the cover assemblies to books.

More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide an effective apparatus or device for use as described in the foregoing, and which has the general form of a board or other flat base member which affords a smooth work surface of appropriate size adequate to accommodate book covers and books of the sizes normally or most frequently encountered by the user, said base member having an elongated clamping member hingedly mounted at one edge and extended longitudinally thereof, and also having a plurality of indicia preferably in the form of guide markings denoted on the work surface in progressively spaced relation to the clamping member aforesaid and serving as measuring references and folding guides.

Other and further objects and advantages of the inven-' tion will be hereinafter described and the novel features thereof defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in top plan of an apparatus embodying the features of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a view of the apparatus as seen in front elevation;

Fig. 3 is a view in end elevation, and also showing in broken lines the clamping member swung to a partially open position;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view in end elevation and on an enlarged scale, with the clamping member shown in full lines in an operative clamping relation to a book cover assembly, and also showing in broken lines the clamping member in a partially open position;

Fig. 5 isa perspective view of the apparatus in the,

course of its use in assemblying a typical book cover, but

with the book cover in a condition after insertion of the Fig. 6 is another perspective View generally similar to Fig. 5, showing the apparatus while in use during the subsequent application of the assembled cover to a book; and,

Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of one of the resilient pressure fingers or shoes which forms a part of the cover clamping member and illustrating in broken lines a typiv cal sheet metal blank or stamping from which the shoe is folded into its finished form, as indicated'by the arrows. I

Like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several figures of thedrawings, wherein 1 generally denotes a rigid base member of generally rectangu-- lar form and which may be termed a clamping board, said base member having a flat, smooth work surface denoted 2 on the upper face thereof, and being of an area suifia cient to accommodate books of the size normally or most, frequently encountered during use, and thus having dimensions both longitudinally and transversely that are somewhat greater than the over-all height and longitudinal width of the books when laid on the work surface in V The bottom surface of the' base member 1 is preferably provided with a felt or other an open-book condition.

resilient cushion designated 3, which may be adhesively or otherwise suitably attached to the base member for the purpose of preventing scratching or marring of a desk, table, counter or other support on which the base member is rested while in use.

Suitably anchored to the base member 1 and extending longitudinally thereof at one edge, preferably the back edge, is an abutment member designated 4, said abutment member being of substantial length, but preferably termifrom the extreme opposite ends of the base member. The forward edge of the abutment member 4 is disposed substantially perpendicularly to the work surface 2 of the base member and defines a raised stop shoulder designated 5 which lies parallel to the extreme longitudinal edges of the base member. Spaced from the stop shoulder 5 aforesaid, and suitably delineated on the work surface 2 of the base member is appropriate indicia constituting reference guide markings, said guide markings preferably including a plurality of parallel spaced lines designated 6 which extend longitudinally across the work surface 2 in parallel relation to each other and also parallel to the stop shoulder 5. The guide lines 6 are identified by numbers designated 7 which preferably denote the distances in inches which the respective lines are spaced from the stop shoulder 5. Obviously, the number and spacing of the lines may be varied as desired, but are preferably chosen to cover the average range of book sizes that are normally or most frequently encountered in the application of covers to books.

Hingedly connected to the base member 1 along the same edge at which the abutment member 4 extends, is a clamping member generally designated 8, said clamping member having the form of a rigid flat plate of substantial mass and being preferably composed of a transparent and relatively unbreakable material such as Plexiglas or other transparent plastic. As illustrated in the drawings, the clamping plate 8 is anchored along one longitudinal edge to one leaf of a piano-type hinge 9, while the other leaf of thehinge issuitably anchored to the upper side of the abutment member 4, these anchorages being attained by the use of suitable screw fasteners 10 or the like.

As clearly shown in the drawings, the clamping plate 8 has a longitudinal dimension generally corresponding to the length of the stop member 4, but its transverse dimension is substantially greater than that of the stop member so that when the clamping plate is swung about the pivotal axis of the hinge 9 to an operative clamping position as shown in full. lines in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, the forward portion of the plate overlies a substantial area of the work surface f the base member 1, and the extreme front edge of the plate is spaced forwardly of the stop shoulder 5 at a substantial distance from the latter, and the bottom face of the plate lies in an elevated position above the work surface 2, but is substantially parallel thereto.

Suitably attached to the forward portion of the clamping plate 8 and depending downwardly therefrom at an inclination thereto and to the work surface is a plurality of resilient pressure fingers or shoes 11. While three such shoes have been shown in the drawings, it is to be understood that the number thereof may be varied as desired.

In the form as shown in the drawings, and which is intended to be illustrative of only one suitable embodiment, each pressure shoe is composed of a sheet metal stamping which in its initial condition has an outline as shown in broken lines in Fig. 7. The extreme opposite ends of the blank are reversely folded upon the middle of the blank, as indicated by the arrows, to provide a body of double thickness having sufficient stiffness to retain a substantially flat shape, and to further assure maintenance of the flat shape of each shoe, the main body thereof may be suitably crimped or corrugated longitudinally, as indicated at 12. Along one marginal edge, the body of the shoe is extended transversely as at 13 to provide an anchoring flange which is adapted to be anchored to the free edge of the clamping plate 8 as by means of screw fasteners 14 which are threadedly engageable with the clamping plate, as best seen in Fig. 4 of the drawings. When the anchoring flanges 13 are secured to'the clamping plate 8, the body 11 of each shoe inclines downwardly from the lower surface of the clamping plate at an acute angle to the latter, and the free edge of each shoe is sufiiciently springy to yieldingly grip a book cover when laid on the work surface 2 of the base member 1 and the clamping plate is swung to its operative clamping position shown in full lines in Fig. 4, thus exerting a light, but firm, holding pressure against the book cover in proportion to the mass or dead weight of the clamping plate which is inherently urged by gravity toward the operative clamping position when the plate is swung forwardly about the pivotal axis of the hinge 9.

LID the use of the apparatus described in the foregoing, and assuming a book cover of a typical conventional form is to be assembled with a dust jacket and thereafter the assembly is to be applied to a book, the base member 1 is first placed upon a desk, table, counter, or other proper support, with the clamping plate 8 preferably disposed farthest from the user at the rear edge of the base member, and the clamping plate is swung upwardly to its open or inoperative position. The Work surface of the base member is thus fully exposed, and the book cover can be quickly placed flat upon the work surface with one longitudinal edge of the cover in abutting engagement with the stop shoulder 5 along the rear edge of the work surface, after which, the clamping member can be closed to hold the cover firmly in position. However, if desired, the clamping plate 8 may be initially disposed in its closed position as shown in full lines in Figs. 1 to 4, and the book cover can be slid under the pressure shoes 11 until the rear edge of the book cover is fully engaged with the stop shoulder. In the case of the book cover shown for illustration purposes in the drawings herein, the cover is composed of an outer sheet of transparent plastic material as indicated at 15, and an inner sheet of paper material superimposed thereon and forming a reinforcing liner, as indicated at 16, the longitudinal edges of these two component members being folded over upon themselves along one longitudinal side of the cover, as best seen in 'Fig. 4, the opposite longitudinal edges of these component members being initially flat and unfolded when supplied by the manufacturer, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 5. Having inserted the cover members 15, 16 beneath the pressure shoes as just described, the forward edge of the reinforcing liner may be lifted slightly away from the underlying outer transparent cover member to facilitate insertion of the dust jacket 17 between these component parts of the cover, and the dust jacket is then slid rearwardly until its longitudinally extended rear edge is fully embraced within the folds of the cover at the rear edge of the latter, as previously described, and the rear edge of the dust jacket assumes a position aligned with the folded edge of the cover. When the dust jacket has thus been inserted in the cover, it will be firmly held against inadvertent displacement, along with the other component parts of the cover assembly, by the pressure of the shoes 11 carried by the clamping plate 8, as will be obvious from reference to Fig. 4 of the drawings.

As the next step in the completion of the cover assembly, the forward edge of the cover must be folded to reduce the over-all transverse dimension of the cover assembly to that corresponding to the height of the book to which the cover is to be applied. For this purpose, the guide markings 6 and 7 on the work surface 2 of the base member 1 may be referred to for selection of the particular marking or guide line which corresponds to the transverse dimension or vertical height of the book, and when so selected, the forward edge of the transparent cover member is folded rearwardly in the manner indicated by the arrows in Fig. 5, with the fold sharply creased to lie flat and embrace the forward edges of the book jacket and the reinforcing liner, respectively, as in the condition shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings. In making this latter fold, the guide lines 6 on the base member 1 facilitate accurate determination of the over-all transverse dimension of the cover assembly, as well as help insure alignment of the fold in parallel relation to the opposite folded edge of the cover assembly which is held firmly on the work surface of the base member 1 by the clamping plate and pressure shoes during the cover assembling operations.

Upon completion of the assembly of the cover, the clamping plate 8 is then swung upwardly and rearwardly away from the work surface 2 of the base member 1 until it assumes an out-of-the-way position as shown in Fig. 6, leaving the cover assembly lying in a flat condition on the work surface, and with the rear edge of the assembly against the stop shoulder 5 of the abutment member 4. With the cover assembly so disposed, the book to which the cover is to be applied is placed with its back edge against the mid-portion of the cover as sembly while the book is closed and with the free edges of the book leaves uppermost, and with the rear edge of the book abutting against the stop shoulder 5 of the abutment member 4, Thereupon, one of the cover leaves of the book is swung open to lie flat against the cover assembly aforementioned, and the extended end of the cover assembly is then folded over the extreme edge of the cover leaf, as indicated at 18 in Fig, 6, with the folded end of the cover assembly lying flat against the inner surface of the cover leaf 19 of the book 20. This cover leaf of the book is then closed, and the opposite cover leaf 21 is then opened fully until it lies flat against the protective cover assembly, and the opposite extended edge of the cover assembly is then folded about the free edge of the cover leaf 21 to complete the application of the protective cover assembly to the book.

It will be recognized from the foregoing that the use of the apparatus as described above not only facilitates and expedites the assembly of the component parts of the permanent book cover and dust jacket, but also facilitates application of the assembly to the book itself, with assurance of accurate sizing of the cover assembly to conform to the size of the book, as well as assurance of smoothness and neatness of the cover assembly when applied to the book. It will also be recognized that the apparatus may be used to good advantage irrespective of the use of dust jackets in conjunction with the protective cover assembly, as well as irrespective of the use of reinforcing liners as a part of the protective cover assembly. The particular type of protective cover as disclosed herein may be varied in other ways, according to the various types produced by different manufacturers, and it is accordingly to be understood that this invention is not limited solely to the specific cover assembly as shown and described herein. 7

While the specific details have been herein shown and described, the invention is not confined thereto, as changes and alterations may be made without departing from the spirit thereof as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for use in assembling and applying book covers, comprising a base member of general rectangular form and defining on one face a flat work surface of an area somewhat larger than that occupied by the average book when lying thereon in an open-book condition, said base member having a raised abutment extended along one longitudinal edge thereof and defining a stop shoulder lying substantially perpendicular to the work surface of the base member for aligning and positioning one longitudinal edge of a book cover thereagainst, said base member also having a plurality of guide markings delineated thereon at progressively increased distances from the stop shoulder aforesaid and corresponding to the over-all heights of average books of difierent sizes in a predetermined size range, and a clamping member pivotally connected to the base member and freely shiftable to and from an operative covernholding position, with the clamping member partially overlyingthe work surface of the base member when in its operative holding position and engageable with a book cover adjacent to one longitudinal edge of the latter when placed on the work surface aforesaid with one longitudinal edge of the cover against the stop shoulder, said .clamping member serving to hold the book cover steady during assembly of component parts thereof such as dust jackets, and during folding of the free longitudie nal edge of the cover assembly along a line determined by a selected guide marking corresponding to a prede-v termined book size, said clamping member also being shiftable to an out-of-the-way position permitting placement of. a book on the cover assembly and in engagement with said stop shoulder to establish and maintain an aligned correlation of the book and cover assembly during application of the cover assembly to the book, and said clamping member being provided with resilient cover-engaging means extended from the free edge of the pivotal clamping member.

2. Apparatus for use in assembling and applying book covers, comprising a base member of general rectangular form and defining on one face a flat work surface of an area somewhat larger than that occupied by the average book when lying thereon in an open-book condition, said base member having a raised abutment extended along one longitudinal edge thereof and defining a stop. shoulder lying substantially perpendicular to the work surface of the base member for aligning and positioning one longitudinal edge of a book cover thereagainst, said base member also having a plurality of guide markings delineated thereon at progressively increased distances from the stop shoulder aforesaid and corresponding to the over-all heights of average books of different sizes in a predetermined size range, and a clamping member pivotally connected to the base member and freely shiftable to and from an operative cover-holding position, with the clamping member partially overlying the work surface of the base member when in its operative holding position and engageable with a book cover adjacent to one longitudinal edge ofthe latter when placed on thework surface aforesaid with one longitudinal edge of the cover against the stop shoulder, said clamping member serving to hold the book cover steady during assembly of component parts thereof such as dust jackets, and during folding of the free longitudinal edge ofv the cover, assembly along a line determined by a selectedguide marking corresponding to a predetermined book size, said clamping member also being shiftable to an out-.of-the-way position permitting placement of a book on the cover assembly and in engagement with said stop shoulder to establish and maintain an aligned correlation of the book and cover assembly during application of the cover assembly to the book, and said clamping member being provided with resilient cover-engaging means extended from the free edge of the pivotal clamp ingmember, said resilient means comprising a plurality of pressure shoes disposed in longitudinally spaced relation to each other along the free edge of the clamping member.

3. Apparatus for use in assembling and applying book covers, comprising a base member of general rectangular form and defining on one face a flat work surface of an area somewhat larger than that occupied by the avclamping member pivotally connected to the base ment her and freely shiftable to and from an operative coverholding position, with the clamping member partially overlying the work surface of the base member when in its operative holding position and engageable with a book cover adjacent to one longitudinal edge of the latter when placed on the work surface aforesaid with one longitudinal edge of the cover against the stop shoulder, said clamping member serving to hold the book cover steady during assembly of component parts thereof such as dust jackets, and during folding of the free longitudinal edge of the cover assembly along a line determined by a selected guide marking corresponding to a predetermined book size, said clamping member also being shiftable to an out-of-the-way position permitting placement of a book on the cover assembly and in engagement with said stop shoulder to establish and maintain an aligned correlation of the book and cover assembly during application of the cover" assembly to the book, and said clamping member being provided with resilient cover-engaging means extended from the free edge of the pivotal clamping member, said resilient means comprising, a plurality of pressure shoes disposed in longitudinally spaced relation to each other along the free edge of the clamping member, and said shoes being composed of relatively thin and springy sheet metal.

4. Apparatus for use in assembling and applying book covers, comprising a base member of general rectangular form and defining on one face a flat work surface of an area somewhat larger than that occupied by the average book when lying thereon in an open-book condition, said base member having a raised abutment extended along one longitudinal edge thereof and defining a stop shoulder lying substantially perpendicular to the work surface of the base member for aligning and positioning one longitudinal edge of a book cover thereagainst, said base member also having a plurality of guide markings delineated thereon at progressively increased distances from the stop shoulder aforesaid and corresponding to the overall heights of average books of different sizes in a predetermined size range, and a clamping member pivotally connected to the base member and freely shiftable to and from an operative coverholding position, with the clamping member partially overlying the work surface of the base member when in its operative holding position and engageable with a book cover adjacent to one longitudinal edge of the latter when placed on the work surface aforesaid with one longitudinal edge of the cover against the stop shoulder, said clamping member serving to hold the book cover steady during assembly of component parts thereof such as dust jackets, and during folding of the free longitudinal edge of the cover assembly along a line determined by a selected guide marking corresponding to a predetermined book size, said clamping member also being shiftable to an out-of-the-way position permitting placement of a book on the cover assembly and in engagement with said stop shoulder to establish and maintain an aligned correlation of the book and cover assembly during application of the cover assembly to the book, and said clamping member being provided with resilient cover-engaging means extended from the free edge of the pivotal clamping member, said resilient means comprising a plurality of pressure shoes disposed in longitudinally spaced relation to each other along the free edge of the clamping member, and said shoes being composed of relatively thin and springy sheet metal, each of said shoes being anchored to the clamping member and extended therefrom at an acute angle.

5. Apparatus for use in assembling and applying book covers, comprising a base member of general rectangular form and defining on one face a fiat work surface of an area somewhat larger than that occupied by the average book when lying thereon in an open-book condition, said base member having a raised abutment extended 8 a along one longitudinal edge thereof and defining a stop shoulder lying substantially perpendicular to the work surface of the base member for aligning and positioning one longitudinal edge of a book cover thereagainst, said base member also having a plurality of guide markings delineated thereon at progressively increased distances from the stop shoulder aforesaid and corresponding to the over-all heights of average books of different sizes in a predetermined size range, and a clamping member pivotally connected to the base member and freely shiftable to and from an operative cover-holding position, with the clamping member partially overlying the work surface of the base member when in its operative holding position and engageable with a book cover adjacent to one longitudinal edge of the latter when placed on the work surface aforesaid with one longitudinal edge of the cover against the stop shoulder, said clamping member serving to hold the book cover steady during assembly of component parts thereof such as dust jackets, and during folding of the free longitudinal edge of the cover assembly along a line determined by a selected guide marking corresponding to a predetermined book size, said clamping member also being shiftable to an out-of-the-way 1 position permitting placement of a book on the cover asl sembly and in engagement with said stop shoulder to establish and maintain an aligned correlation of the l book and cover assembly during application of the cover assembly to the book, and said clamping member including a relatively rigid flat plate having a mass sufi'iciently great to exert a substantial clamping pressure on the book cover when the clamping member is swung about its pivotal axis to its operative cover holding position.

6. Apparatus for use in assembling and applying book covers, comprising a base member of general rectangular formand defining on one face a flat work surface of an area somewhat larger than that occupied by the average book when lying thereon in an open-book condition, said base member having a raised abutment extended along one longitudinal edge thereof and defining a stop shoulder lying substantially perpendicular to the work surface of the base member for aligning and positioning one longitudinal edge of a book cover thereaginst, said base member also having a plurality of guide markings delineated thereon at progressively increased distances from the stop shoulder aforesaid and corresponding to the over-all heights of average books of different sizes in a predetermined size range, and a clamping member pivotally connected to the base member and freely shiftable to and" from an operative coverholding position, with the clamping member partially overlying the work surface of the base member when in its operative holding position and engageable with a book cover adjacent to one longitudinal edge of the latter when placed on the work surface aforesaid with one longitudinal edge of the cover against the stop shoulder, said clamping member serving to hold the book cover steady during assembly of component parts thereof such as dust jackets, and during folding of the free longitudinal edge of the cover assembly along a l ne determined by a selected guide marking corresponding to a predetermined book size, said clamping member also being shiftable to an out-of-the-way position perm tting placement of a book on the cover assembly and in engagement with said stop shoulder to estabhsh and maintain an aligned correlation of the book and cover assembly during application of the cover assembly to the book, and said clamping member including a relatively rigid flat plate of transparent material and hav ng a mass sufiiciently great to exert a substantial clamping pressure on the book cover when the clamping member is swung about its pivotal axis torts operative cover holdin osition. I

7. A pgaratus for use in assembling and applying book covers, comprising a base member of general rectangulat 9 form and defining on one face a fiat work surface of an area somewhat larger than that occupied by the average book when lying thereon in an open-book condition, said base member having a raised abutment extended along one longitudinal edge thereof and defining a stop shoulder lying substantially perpendicular to the work surface of the base member for aligning and positioning one longitudinal edge of a book cover thereagainst, said base member also having a plurality of guide markings delineated thereon at progressively in creased distances from the stop shoulder aforesaid and corresponding to the over-all heights of average books of different sizes in a predetermined size range, and a clamping member pivotally connected to the base member and freely shifta-ble to and from an operative coverholding position, with the clamping member partially overlying the work surface of the base member when in its operative holding position and engageable with a book cover adjacent to one longitudinal edge of the latter when placed on the work surface aforesaid with one longitudinal edge of the cover against the stop shoulder, said clamping member serving to hold the book cover steady during assembly of component parts thereof such as dust jackets, and during folding of the free longitudinal edge of the cover assembly along a line determined by a selected guide marking corresponding to a predetermined book size, said clamping member also being shiftable to an out-of-the-way position permitting placement of a book on the cover assembly and in engagement with said stop shoulder to establish and maintain an aligned correlation of the hook and cover assembly during application of the cover assembly to the book, and said clamping member including a relatively rigid fiat plate of transparent plastic material and having a mass sufficiently great to exert a substantial clamping pressure on the book cover when the clamping member is swung about its pivotal axis to its operative cover holding position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,051,424 Lipp Jan. 28, 1913 1,274,154 Etherid-ge July 30, 1918 1,964,083 Rubens June 26, 1934 2,800,160 Wilson et al. July 23, 1957 

